Working together to build Anchorage's Art & Cultural Community by fostering connections between artists.

Located at 5861 Arctic Blvd. Ste. D

(Same as Clay Art Space)

We are your local Anchorage supplier of ready-to-use clay bodies, dry cone 5 glazes, raw materials, pottery tools, pottery classes, and finished pottery. We offer kiln firing services for low-fire & mid-fire to cone 6 in electric kilns. Wheel throwing classes for adults is our specialty. We also produce finished wheel-thrown wares for wholesale and retail in Alaska. In the gallery you can find gifts for weddings, birthdays, or everyday.

Our Fall/Winter Studio/Gallery Hours:

Monday - Friday 11am - 9pm

Saturday 12pm - 9pm & Sunday 4pm - 9pm

Thank you for supporting our local business.

Things are changing around the studio as we expand into a new adjoining space. Re-arranging continues as we work on expanding our services. Come join us! We are offering new services and memberships. Our new space opened on September 7th, 2018 to celebrate our new addition to the First Friday art movement. We are open 7 days a week. We offer Stoneware Paint Your Pottery service and room for Parties! We have hand-thrown pottery by our local experts, ready for you to choose and paint with stoneware glazes as well as traditional contemporary ceramics to paint.

We are transitioning to a new format for wheel-throwing classes to help accommodate more artists wanting to work with clay, when they want to. A Beginner Class is required if you've not worked in our studio, before we let you loose in the studio. We have created a cheaper class to cover the basics of using the studio on Thursday nights, Once A Week for 4 weeks in a row. This is for intermediate to advance levels of experience in wheel throwing. We'll review the basics, add a couple intermediate projects and go over how the studio works to get you on your way to a membership or punchcard.

A new schedule for Monthly Classes is posted for 2019. See the "Classes" tab above to go to the Classes page. After finding a class time that works for you, send an email to inquire about space availability for classes in 2019 or stop into the studio to register for a class.

We are seeking studio techs. Please inquire and send your resume if you are interested.

Workshops?

Are you interested in attending one or two day workshops at Midnight Potter Studios LLC? Please send us an email sharing what topics or demonstrations would be helpful for you.

Suggested Ideas to build on:

Improve Your Aim When Throwing (From Centering on Up)

Pricing or Determining the Value of Your Work

Loading a Kiln for Bisque and Glaze

Slab Roller Projects

Hands-On Workshops or Demonstration Workshops

Historical Period Pottery and Their Uses

Studio News:

July-Aug 2019 Update:

The studio is open for classes all year long in 2019. Classes can fill up quickly so look ahead and register early to be sure there is space for you. Please send an email if you are interested in signing up. This is something fun to do with a friend or time for yourself.

On select Saturday nights in June, July, Aug, & Sept, 2019, 7-9pm, Join us for a clay Throw-Down event. $10/ball of clay. Try your hand at wheel throwing for a fun night out. Bring a friend or a date. Bring a small snack to add to the potluck. Also Bring Your Own Drinks (whatever you want). Try your hand at wheel-throwing. No pressure to create a master-piece, but if you do, for $20 per piece, we will trim the bottom, bisque fire, glaze, and glaze fire your work. We have five glaze colors for you to choose from. Ages 12 yrs and up.

These events are not intended to make you a master potter in one night. The idea is to try out throwing clay on a wheel to see if you like it enough to take a class for more indepth learning and lots of practice. Just like learning to play piano, you have to practice, practice, practice! We will do a quick demonstration at 7pm and another at 8pm for those showing up for the later time slot.

One ball of clay can only take so much abuse before it is mush. Each person participating can expect to be on a wheel for 15 - 30 minutes max per each ball of clay purchased. You may buy more than one ball of clay at these events! We have 9 potters wheels available but we want to have 20+ people try throwing at these events.

Other Studio Activities:

During the week, stop in and glaze some pottery for fun, relaxation, & creativity. We have octopus mugs ready to be painted and other fun or functional pieces. Check out the Summer Art Kids Classes. Sign up now!

Let us know how we can help you with your projects. We sell the clay and tools to get you started and we can discuss the glazes needed to finish your projects. We offer kiln firing as well. We need to know what clay we are firing first so be prepared with the name and type of clay.

Dry goods, such as powdered glazes or raw materials require extra time to process or package up. Let us know ahead of your visit so we can get your order ready before you arrive. Otherwise you may need to make a second trip to pick up your items later.

Kiln Firing Cut Off Date for 2019: It's never too early to plan ahead when making pottery, so... December 7, 2019 is the cut-off for dropping off items for Cone 5 Glaze Firing in time for Christmas. This is not a guarantee of getting things fired in time. Really, items should be dropped off just after Thanksgiving to have a better chance of being done in time. For ceramics fired at Cone 06, the cut-off is December 15th, 2109. The cut off for requesting Custom Made pottery gifts for Christmas presents is November 25th, 2019. The studio will be closed for the week of Christmas & New Years, December 20th, 2019 - Jan 3rd, 2020, and we'll reopen on January 4th, 2020.

ADULT WHEEL THROWING CLASSES

Wheel throwing classes for adults is our specialty. Classes are four weeks long on Monday and Wednesday evenings 6 pm to 9 pm. The schedule is posted for 2019. Click on the "Classes" tab above.

RAKU FIRING IN 2019

Raku Firings are limited in the summer due to fire bans. Raku firing is weather permitting. Sign up for our email list at the studio for announcements of the Raku dates and follow us on Facebook for notifications of events if you are interested in participating in raku firings. Go to the classes tab above or the Raku Firing tab for more details about Raku Firing. Winter time is a good time to make vessels in preparation for firing in the spring. Sign up for a class now, not later.

ANCHORAGE CLAY ARTS GUILD:

The guild is having a show in September 2019 at GCVA (Girdwood Center for Visual Arts), next to the bakery. Thank you to GCVA for hosting and to Chair 5 for providing appetizers on the opening night.

2020 Spring Workshop: The guild is working on the next workshop for May 2020. Stay tuned for more information, or attend a meeting. the Workshop this year costs $125 for members and $150 for non-members.

2019 Annual Fall Sale in November at the Sears Mall Common area (new name coming soon). The hours are the same as the Mall Hours. Can't miss it! Get your Christmas shopping started!

Anchorage Clay Arts Guild meetings are on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Meetings run Sept - May annually. Meetings are held at Midnight Potter Studios aka Clay Art Space at 7pm. Open to the public. Come meet the members, join the group, & get inspired. Annual dues ($25) cover January to December.

STUDIO GALLERY:

Thank you for supporting your local art scene promoting the hand-crafted movement. Giving a hand-made gift is always the best. The gallery contains pottery works from several Anchorage potters including Penny Panlener, Kaity Johnston, Lynne Jablonski, Iris Boser, and Jenny Ditto; Mosaic work by Joe Cooper and fused glass by Laura Walters and Cindy Holderith. The gallery is open 7 days a week.

We will be hosting First Friday events in a our new gallery space. We welcome artists to apply for a monthly wall hanging show on our stupendously large purple wall. 60/40 Commissions. Please inquire if you'd like to be a featured artist for a month.

ADULT STUDIO TIME:

You can rent time on a wheel at Midnight Potter Studios! Previous wheel experience required and basic skills expected. Please take a class at Midnight Potter Studios prior to using the studio so you know where everything is and how to clean up. Throwing & trimming instructions are not provided with wheel rentals. Buy a punchcard or a membership. Clay must be purchased at the studio for use on the wheel. Make it one night, trim it on another night in the same week or a week later. Kiln firing & glaze costs are additional. Call or email the studio for space availability.

Everyone who uses MPS must learn and abide by studio policies, cleaning up as directed, and follow safe guidelines for working with clay. Always avoid creating airborne clay dust. We recycle clay, therefore some rules apply and need to be followed to ensure the purity of the system. Wheel time is $10/hr. per person. Kiln firing is priced by measuring the size of the piece coming out of the kiln. Glaze fees are sold by the ounce.

We offer memberships and punchcards to experienced potters to drop in to use the studio during hours of availability. Studio use requires knowing how to use our studio, which is different from other studios. A class is required first, to get to know the studio rules. For everyone's comfort, this is the best way.

COMMUNITY EVENTS: Throwing Bowls for Empty Bowls Projects:

If you'd like to make bowls for Empty Bowls Fundraisers around the State of Alaska, you can rent time on a wheel at Midnight Potter Studios LLC. Previous wheel experience required. Throwing Instructions are not provided. This is by appointment only. Your organization or charity buys the clay & glaze ahead of time from Midnight Potter Studios LLC. Two dipping glaze colors are recommended. If you prefer other types or colors of glaze, you can purchase those to use with prior approval. You pay for firing costs. You must learn and abide by studio policies, cleaning up as directed, and follow safe guidelines for working with clay. Always avoid creating airborne clay dust. We recycle clay, therefore some rules apply and need to be followed to ensure the purity of the system. Wheel time is $10/hr. Firing costs depend on the size of the bowls or by the kiln load. We prefer you take a wheel throwing class in the studio before making bowls for fundraisers.

CURRENT WORK:

You can find pottery by the Midnight Potter at the studio. We do custom work. Our Alaskan items are also available at the airport and a few gift shops. To see recent photos of our pottery work visit us on Facebook @Midnightpotter or @ClayArtSpaceUSA We are looking for more gift shops to supply. Please inquire in January or February to pre-order for your store for the upcoming tourist season.

SHOWS We'll Be At This year:

The 3 Barons Fair, aka the Renaissance Fair at the Tozier Track at Tudor Road and Elmore. Two full weekends of satire, dressing up, having fun, and living in the 14th Century. June 1-2, 2019 and June 8-9, 2019. Pirate Day is Sunday, June 2nd! We're making special Mugs and Jugs for this fair!

•Supplies for Sale (Clay Bodies) Yes, we sell real clay, mostly cone 6 white stonewares but we also carry other types of clays. All wet clays are available in 25 lb bags in block form. We can special order other clays and supplies too. We can get supplies for Straw Bale Construction for the clay-plasters. As of March 2019, all blocks of 25# clay bags are $35 each.

If you send an email we will reply as quickly as we can. If you call and leave a message, please follow up with another call soon. We rarely return phone calls, but will do so if we can. But we can email any time of the night!

We accept Credit Cards and Cash for payment.

IN GENERAL:

E-Mails are responded to quicker than phone calls are returned. If you call the studio and no one answers, please leave a message or send an email. We may have our hands in clay and can't answer the phone. But if you need information, it's best to send an email. Thank you and we do want to hear from you!